True Entertainment

Albumbeschreibung

On their first album in six years, Manchester, England's Dutch Uncles—electro-art charmers who, in 2010, signaled a shift away from the Oasis-led "lad rock" that once defined their hometown—are having a sometimes frisky, sometimes weary mid-life crisis. True Entertainment chronicles "the pursuit of anonymity within ever-changing societal norms," singer Duncan Wallis has explained. In other words: the plight of the moderately successful middle-age rock star. The glittery title track, which the band has said is inspired by acid house and Prince's Sign O' The Times, apparently reflects on the "awkwardness" that Wallis feels when he's recognized for Dutch Uncles while "working one of his many public-facing jobs." "I can't complain," he croons. "You're going through hell/ But you found my name/ It rhymes with 'Superman.'" He does a good job summoning Bryan Ferry louche-cool here on "Tropigala (2 to 5)," which has a hairpin-curve vocal melody. That track, with winky synth squiggles and backing vocals by Anna Prior of Metronomy, sounds more modern than retro, almost like a La Roux cut. Wallis' high tenor is especially plaintive on "Damascenes," with its languid piano (á la Joe Jackson), as he tries on various inflections of "nothing to us" like it's an acting class exercise: tired, angry, desperate, cool. At one point, Andrew Proudfoot's hyperactive drums drop out, as if to catch a breath, and it's, well, breathtaking. The disco funk of "Poppin'" is leisure-suit smooth as Wallis weighs the dread of dealing with now-aged faces from your youthful past ("I can't sweat the permanence," he sings existentially). "I'm Not Your Dad" comes in with a menacing, ominous quality, then impresses with a metallic guitar echo lifted from spaghetti westerns. Robin Richards' bass charges defiantly on "Deep End" as Wallis throws grown-up caution to the wind: "Run for the deep end!" "In Salvia" gets delightfully weird, with what sounds like a slide whistle doing an East Asian riff and guitar that bleats as if it's been run through an 8-bit video-game filter. The band has said the record is influenced by the likes of Yellow Magic Orchestra, Roxy Music and The Blue Nile, and you can still hear their old touchstones—Tears for Fears, XTC, even Steve Reich—as well. There's even a Flock of Seagulls moment on "End Belief," which jumps in with an electro dance-floor beat then absolutely blooms at the chorus in a display of layered vocals and rippling guitar. "Now you must own your own shit," Wallis acrobatically exclaims on "Dead Letter," a blissed-out, dancey take on world beat that stretches like elastic. "You could've made your point/ And anyone would agree/ That that's the door for you." Why waste your breath arguing? © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz